Back support

ABSTRACT

A DEVICE HAVING AN ELONGATED RIGID MEMBER INCLUDING SPACED APART ELEMENTS EMBRACING THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S BACK. A PAIR OF END PORTIONS FLARED OUTWARDLY AWAY FROM THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S BACK ARE CONNECTED THROUGH STRAPS TO THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S CHEST AND ANKLES AND FEET. A BELT IS SECURED TO THE PAIR OF ELEMENTS FOR ENGAGEMENT AROUND THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S WAIST TO HOLD THE ELONGATED MEMBER IN PLACE ON THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S BACK. THE WEIGHT OF THE WEARER&#39;&#39;S UPPER BODY PORTION IS CARRIED IN PART THROUGH THE ELONGATED MEMBER CONNECTED TO THE ANKLES AND FEET THROUGH AN ELASTIC CONNECTING MEANS WHEN THE WEARER IS IN A STOOPED POSITION.

March 16, 1971 c. B. NAIG BACK SUPPORT Filed Oct. 5, 1968 Mam r0?C/mm/s's Bzzra Mq/a 5v 2% ,WM +rM United States Patent US. Cl. 2-44 7Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device having an elongated rigidmember including spaced apart elements embracing the wearers back. Apair of end portions flared outwardly away from the wearers back areconnected through straps to the wearers chest and ankles and feet. Abelt is secured to the pair of elements for engagement around thewearers waist to hold the elongated member in place on the wearers back.The weight of the wearers upper body portion is carried in part throughthe elongated member connected to the ankles and feet through an elasticconnecting means when the wearer is in a stooped position.

A particularly difiicult problem in shearing sheep and other jobsrequiring the operator to work from a stooped position is the fatigueand strain on the operators back. Those jobs which require the operatorto work in a stooped position frequently will require the worker tomaintain that position for extended periods of time thereby placing anunusually great strain upon the workers back body muscles.

This invention involves a back brace worn entirely on the back of thewearer leaving the wearers front side completely free to perform normalWork functions such as shearing sheep or the like. A person when in astooped position with the use of this invention hashis upper body weighttransferred to his feet which are anchored on the ground therebysubstantially relieving strain on the persons back muscles and improvinghis balance while in the stooped position.

The back brace of this invention does not cause binding, irritations oreifect the persons circulation by the use of the non-restrictiveconnecting straps.

The back brace of this invention uses the buttocks of the wearer as thefulcrum and the brace is securely fastened in a gunholster fashion tothe waist of the wearer. The back brace being secured to the wearersfeet eliminates disturbing the wearers balance as is the case when it issecured to other points on the body below the waist. The wearers feetare securely anchored on the ground and the lever arm is eliminatedthereby making it impossible for there to be any rotational forces onthe wearers body below the waist.

The chest strap is held securely around the chest and under the wearersarms near his armpits and thus provides a maximum lever arm measuredfrom the fulcrum point at the buttocks of the wearer and additionallymaintains the strap in a position that it will not interfere with theoperator's arm movements. Additionally, it is seen that the back braceof this invention can be worn by women as well as men, the lift or cheststrap embracing the body above the breasts.

In order to give the desired leverages and to fit different wearers, theelongated back member is telescopically extendable.

These and other features and advantages of this invention will becomereadily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to thefollowing description when taken into consideration with theaccompanying drawings, where- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the backbrace of this 3,579,011 Patented Mar. 16, 1971 invention being worn by asheep shearer in a standing position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the worker in a bendingworking position shearing sheep;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the back brace unit only;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 3.

The back brace of this invention is generally referred to by thereference numeral 10 and includes an elongated member or unit 12comprised of parallel spaced apart side tubular members 14interconnected at opposite ends by cross portions 16 and 18. The crossportions are flared outwardly away from the wearers back. The sideportions 14 are spaced apart less than the width of the Wearers back.The end portion 18 has leg portions 20 for telescopingly receiving theend portions of the side portions 14 and are held together by set screws22 selectively engageable with openings 24 to selectively provide thedesired length to the back brace unit 12.

A waist belt 26 is carried by the back unit 12 and is secured to theside members by bolts 30. A back cushioning pad 32 is secured to thebelt 26 for engaging the wearers back and is formed of sponge rubber orthe like. A sheet of backing material 34 is provided between the spongerubber 32 and the belt 26. The belt 26 includes a conventional buckle 36for securing the belts free ends 38 and 40 about the wearers waist andbuttocks. The belt is normally worn somewhat loose such as a pistolholder.

The upper cross portion 16 includes a pair of eye bolts 40 extendingtowards the wearer and engaging the rings 42 provided in the ends of achest lift strap 44 adapted to fit around the wearers chest and directlyunder the arms across the arm pits of the wearer. The strap 44 isnormally maintained in this position by the waist belt 26 holding theelongated elements 14 high on the wearers back thus pulling the ends ofthe strap 44 up and back thereby maintaining the strap 44 out of theworkers way While working and also maximizing the lever arm lengthmeasured from the fulcrum across the buttocks of the wearer at the pointof engagement by the belt 26 around the wearers waist.

The lower cross piece 18 also has a pair of eye bolts 50 extendingtherethrough and engaged by the ends of a pair of elastic cords 52adjustably connected to foot and ankle holsters 54. It is seen that theelastic cords 52 are selectively tied at their free ends to the hooks 56connected to the eye bolts 50 and the foot holsters 54. The shoe holster54 includes a strap 58 extending around the wearers ankle and a strap 60fastened thereon which extends around the wearers foot and prevents thestrap 58 from working up the :wearers ankle and thus eliminate anyrotational forces about the feet at their anchoring points to theground. Accordingly, the wearers balance is improved and maintained bythe elastic straps being connected at the point the feet are anchored tothe ground.

In operation the unit 12 is mounted on the wearers back by securing thebelt 26 around the wearers waist and the strap 44 around the wearerschest with the feet being mounted in the foot holsters 54 connected tothe lower end of the unit 12 through the elastic members 52. When thewearer is in the upright standing position of FIG. 1 the elastics 52 arerelatively loose to permit a limited amount of bending before liftingaction on the chest begins to permit reasonable body movement in astanding position including walking. When the wearer bends over to theposition of FIG. 2 then the elastic cords 52 are stretched accordinglyand transfer the overhang weight of the body to the wearers feetanchored to the ground as 3 the unit 12 pivots about a fulcrum on thewearers buttocks. It is seen that maximum lifting leverage is providedby the strap engaging the wearer about the upper portion of his chestand the elastic cords 52 engaging the wearer at the lowermost portion ofhis body, at his feet. The outwardly flaring cross portions 16 and 18also help to keep the back brace free of the body particularly on thefront side such that there is no interference of normal body motions.

The back brace of this invention as seen supplies a steady pull or lifton the upper portion of the body which tends to relieve muscle strainand maximize pain relief as well as provide temper tension relief whichresults in relaxing the worker and enabling him to do better work forlonger periods of time.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of my backsupport without departing from the real spirit and purpose of myinvention, and it is my intension to cover by my claims, any modifiedforms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may bereasonably included within their scope.

I claim: 1. A back support, comprising, an elongated member rigidthroughout its length and being of a size to extend from about theshoulders to the knees of the wearer and having connecting means atopposite ends thereof for engaging the wearers chest at one end andunder and around the feet at the other end, belt means securedintermediate the ends of said elongated member in a position to bearupon the back side of the wearer on the buttocks with the buttocksservingas a fulcrum for said elongated member as the wearer movesbetween standing and stooped positions,

said connecting means at at least one end including elastic meansadapted to yieldably extend when the wearer is in a stooped position,

said connecting means including a pair of connecting elements with footengaging means at the ends thereof for engaging the feet of the wearer.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said other end of said elongatedmember includes a longitudinally extending outwardly flared end portionin engagement with said connecting means, and said flared end portionadapted 4 to extend away from the wearers body to maintain said pair ofconnecting elements away from the feet of the wearer when in a standingposition.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein said belt means secured to saidelongated member is adapted to engage the wearer around the buttocks tohold the elongated member on the buttocks and said connecting meansengaging said end portions being substantially loose when the wearer isin a standing position.

4. The structure of claim 1 wherein said elongated member istelscopingly extendable to fit the height of the wearer.

5. The structure of claim 1 wherein said belt means is adapted tomaintain said one end of said elongated member high enough for saidconnecting means secured thereto to maintain engagement around thewearers chest and directly under the wearers arms when the wearer is ina stooped position.

6. The structure of claim 3 wherein said one end of said elongatedmember includes an outwardly flaring end portion and said elongatedmember is comprised of a pair of spaced apart elongated side membersinterconnected at their ends by said outwardly flared end portions, saidside members being spaced apart less than the width of the wearers back.

7. The structure of claim 6 wherein said pair of connecting elements aremade of elastic material and include a strap means extending under eachof the wearers feet to hold the connecting element in place around thewearers feet and ankles and to pull upwardly and inwardly on the wearersankles and feet when in a stooped position with the feet spread apart.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 406,663 7/ 1889 McKinney 244654,173 7/ 1900 'Mendenhall 244 1,409,326 3/1922 Williamson 2441,634,621 7/ 1927 Martinez 244 3,029,810 4/1962 Martin 12878 RICHARD A.GAUDET, Primary Examiner C. L. PACE, Assistant Examiner

